THE ROLE OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN YOUTH SPORT PARTICIPATION AND PERFORMANCE

This research examined the association of parental involvement, both p arental support and parental pressure, with enjoyment, performance, se lf-esteem, and other characteristics of young tournament tennis player s. Male and female players (median age = 13 years) attending a regiona l tennis academy provided information about the role their parents pla y in their tennis game, their own view of their game, their self-estee m, and their state, regional, and national rankings. This information was used to examine the association of parental support and parental p ressure with players' enjoyment of tennis, their performance, and thei r self-esteem. It was found that parental support was significantly as sociated with enjoyment, with an objective measure of performance (but not players' self-reported level of performance), and with the import ance players' ascribed to their tennis game. Players who reported a hi gh level of parental support tended to report greater enjoyment of ten nis, view tennis as a more important part of their lives, and fall low er in state rankings than players who reported a lower level of parent al support. In addition, parental support appeared to mediate relation s among several player characteristics. The data provided no evidence that parental pressure is an important influence on participation and performance of young tournament tennis players.